Farfalle with Roasted Sweet Potato and Chickpeas

Mmmm sweet potato...

I am an unabashed lover of sweet potatoes. I could eat them every day. I had two lonely sweet potatoes sitting on the counter this past weekend and thought, why not roast them and throw them together with some pasta? (I also threw a can of chickpeas on the roasting pan for some protein.) (Actually, I threw the contents of a can of chickpeas, not the can itself.)

The resulting dish was ok. There wasn't much texture contrast (I think if I had let the chickpeas cool, they would have gotten crispier) and it ended up dry, but the flavor was there!

Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potato and Chickpeas
Serves 3-4

1/2 pound dried pasta (I am not sure if the farfalle was the best pasta shape for this dish, so use whatever you'd like!)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch dice
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dried Italian seasoning
1/2 large onion, cut into slices
2-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (MM's favorite job in the world is picking the little leaves off the stems!)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and chickpeas with 1-2  tablespoons of olive oil, some salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until sweet potatoes are tender and chickpeas are crispy, about 35-40 minutes, stirring a couple times during baking.
3. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Cook the onions until brown and caramelized.
4. Cook the pasta in a large pot of generously salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta (reserve about a cup of the cooking water). Melt the butter in the pasta pot with a tablespoon of olive oil. Return the pasta to the pot and gently stir in the sweet potatoes, chickpeas, onions and thyme. If it looks dry (and it probably will), add some reserved pasta water.